His is being put to the test big-time by the Toronto Maple Leafs. After falling out of a playoff position, league sources say the club’s GM has been working the phones hard trying to find some depth up front to help the struggling club.

To get assistance, Nonis will likely have to move a defenceman and since Dion Phaneuf just signed a seven-year, $49-million extension he isn’t going anywhere. The names of Carl Gunnarsson and Jake Gardiner could be trade bait.

At the very least, it’s all intruiging.

The second most-active GM to trying make a deal: Pittsburgh’s Ray Shero and he has been dangling prospects because of all the injuries the club has had. He is looking to move a young defenceman for a forward.

OFF THE GLASS

Tampa GM Steve Yzerman has notified teams he’d like to deal centre Tom Pyatt and defencman Keith Aulie. I’m not sure his phone will ring off the hook ... With the Flames search for a GM set to heat up, many believe president Brian Burke likely won’t hire anybody until after the March trade deadline. That could pose a problem for the guy who is hired, but the Olympic break set for Feb. 8 is fast approaching and no interviews have been done. The belief is Burke doesn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer from former Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk, but he’s not interested. Many believe Toronto assistant GM Dave Poulin is the leading contender but Boston’s Jim Benning and Vancouver’s Laurence Gilman will draw interest from the Flames ... Many would be shocked if Red Deer coach Brent Sutter is back to coach Team Canada at the world juniors in Montreal/Toronto next Christmas after what took place in Sweden. It wasn’t all his fault the club came home empty handed but it’s believed Hockey Canada officials weren’t thrilled with him pointing the finger at development and not accepting a responsibility for the ugly finish.

THIS N’ THAT

There is major heat in Washington for GM George McPhee to make something happen. He isn’t going to be fired but the belief is it would be nice if he made a move or two to get the club some consistency. RW Martin Erat and D Dmitry Orlov have all stated at one time or another they want out. Former NHL GM Brian Lawton says Erat could be headed for Phoenix... Introduced as the owner of the Panthers on Sept. 27, Vincent Viola could be ready to make front office changes. A graduate of the military school West Point, the talk in NHL circles is he’s had officials in from the school studying the club’s operation to help find ways to improve the productivity in the office. Many believe the club’s poor performance is putting heat on GM Dale Tallon because Viola doesn’t want a team that is losing and, even worse, leaking cash. The Panthers — looking for money from Broward County to help run the BB&T Center — revealed they are losing $20-to-$30 million annually.

RUMOURS DU JOUR

The talk is Newport Sports agent Craig Oster, who has Ottawa D Erik Karlsson in his stable, is the leading contender to be named GM Tim Murray’s assistant in Buffalo. The two have a close relationship and Oster could be introduced soon ... The last cut from Canada’s Olympic team: Philly C Claude Giroux. If anybody gets hurt, depending on what role they play, he could get a call from GM Steve Yzerman ... Avalanche GM Joe Sakic has a big decision to make with centre Paul Statsny before the March 5 trade deadline. The Avs haven’t had any contract talks with the UFA but aren’t likely to deal him, either. Colorado needs Statsny if the club is to make a run for a playoff spot in the tough Western Conference. If the Avs did decide to deal, then Sakic’s phone would be ringing off the hook. Pretty much every team in Canada — with the exception of the Senators and Canucks — needs a No. 1 centre. The Flames, Oilers, Leafs, Jets and Habs will certainly show interest. While the Hawks don’t need Statsny, coach Joel Quenneville has known him since he was a toddler. Statsny, if he gets to market, will be one of the most valuable players out there, but if he’s dealt at the deadline the buyer will have to pay a high price. If the Rangers buy out Brad Richards they’ll be in the market for a guy like Statsny as well ... We’ve yet to see any of those “bold” moves Oilers’ GM Craig MacTavish promised when he took over the post last summer. Since he can’t trade LW Taylor Hall, C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or RW Nail Yakupov, the most attractive piece could be C Sam Gagner. He’d get the club a decent returns and there’s even talk he could be dealt to Carolina for one of the club’s three goalies: Cam Ward, Justin Peters or Anton Khudobin. Somebody might take RW Ales Hemsky at the deadline for a draft pick ... Hearing the Blue Jackets are willing to move C Brandon Dubinsky and his $4.2 million cap hit through 2014-15 ... Don’t be surprised if Hockey Canada VP Brad Pascall lands in an NHL front office after the Sochi Olympics.